The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that 97.26 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation, as of May 19, 2023, have been returned to the system. Notably, the central bank announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes earlier this year on May 19 as a clean currency initiative.
In its circular issued on December 1, the RBI informed that the overall value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation stood at Rs 3.56 lakh crore, as of May 19, 2023, and this value decreased to Rs 9,760 crore, as of November 30, 2023.
The banking regulator further noted that the facility for deposit and exchange of the Rs 2,000 notes was earlier available at all bank branches till September 30, 2023, and this was later extended till October 7, 2023.
The facility for exchange was also available at the 19 Issue Offices of the RBI since May 2023. Currently, the RBI Issue Offices are available for exchanging Rs 2,000 banknotes since October 9, 2023, and are also accepting the currency from individuals or entities for depositing to their bank accounts.
The central bank added that individuals in the country can also send Rs 2,000 banknotes via India Post from any post office in the nation to any of the RBI Issue Offices for crediting in their bank accounts in India. The bank further stated that the Rs 2,000 banknotes would continue to remain legal tender.
Notably, the RBI launched Rs 2,000 banknotes earlier in November 2016 to cater to the currency needs of the country after all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in a historic demonetisation decision.
The bank earlier stated that the aim of introducing the Rs 2,000 banknotes was achieved once banknotes in other denominations were available in abundant quantities in the economy. Therefore, the regulator stopped the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes in 2018-19.
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